"Last night, my eldest sister received Ziwen's acceptance letter and was so happy. We chatted so much that we stayed up late. Otherwise, my eldest sister and the others would have come over long ago. But they're almost here. The two sisters have prepared the meal and will be here with them this afternoon."
After Lin Juhua finished speaking, she shouted towards the kitchen, "Sister-in-law, do you need my help?"
Zhou Jiao looked at her speechlessly and said a series of words, but she just didn't want to take off the burden on her body. How big of a heart does that have? And can you take your son?
"No need! You can eat right away!"
Lin Juhua laughed and shouted, "Then hurry up. Oh, Shitou's father and Xiaowu have gone to pick up Big Brother. They will be back soon."
Zhou Jiao thought the two of them still had something to talk about, but what should she do with the child in her arms who smelled so much of urine? She could only try her best to attract the other person's attention, "Is Xiaoliu hungry?"
Lin Juhua looked down and saw that her son was constantly leaning on his aunt. She laughed with joy and quickly took off the bag on her body and put it on the stone bench, then took it from her arms.
"This silly boy wants to eat before it's time for dinner." Lin Juhua patted the child in her arms and continued, "Is Ziwen in the backyard? This child is really hardworking and he really got in. A fifteen-year-old kid will have a stable job in three years. I don't have to worry about him anymore."
Zhou Jiao glanced at Ping An retracting his fist, and as she stood up, she replied, "Why are you worried? Little Shitou is very smart. Sister-in-law, please sit down for a while. I'll take the child back first."
"Then hurry up."
Zhou Jiao almost fell over when she heard this. "Come over quickly?" She had just noticed that her second sister-in-law hadn't mentioned which college her eldest nephew had been admitted to. If she really expanded on this topic, there would probably be more to talk about.
Zhou Jiao, who had escaped from the wind, hurried home holding Xiao Ping'an's hand.
As soon as he entered the house, Ping An saw her close the gate and gave her a strange look. When Zhou Jiao scooped two large buckets of hot water from the pot and carried them to the bathroom, he chuckled with joy.
"Mom, did you just hold your little brother?"
Zhou Jiao glanced at him speechlessly. Why is he so clever? Didn't he say some things shouldn't be said openly?
Ping An said tactfully, "Mom, you wash first. I'll hold the door for you."
Zhou Jiao quickly wet the towel, wrung it out, and wiped his face with it. "Mom can't stand it anymore. Sit down and cool down for a while. You can take a shower soon."
Ping'an nodded with a smile, moved a stool to sit in the yard, and shook his head as he looked at the door. His mother, who was so smart, had made a fool of herself, knowing that her little brother was dirty and still holding him. His second aunt was really unkind. Her poor little brother had been raised stupid by his mother. He couldn't even walk or talk at this age.
After Zhou Jiao took a shower and changed her clothes, she left the room and waved to Ping An until she could smell no more odor.
In the bathroom, Ping An thought for a moment and couldn't help asking, "Mom, is my little brother two years old? Why can't he speak yet? He can't even walk?"
Zhou Jiao looked at him amusedly and said as she helped him dry, "He's two years old in lunar age, but a few months older in chronological age. Some children develop later, so it's a little slower."
"Oh, I thought he was a fool. He would poop just by eating."
“…”
After washing the clothes that the mother and son had taken off, Zhou Jiao looked at the sun and guessed that the nursing home was busy with breakfast, so she took her son to the living room to rest for a while.
The mother and daughter chatted about irrelevant topics.
"Mom, will Dad really wait for them to leave together?"
Zhou Jiao shook her head. How could that be possible? She had asked him to go out so early in the morning because she was worried about him getting burned by the sun.
"Rest for a while, we'll go to the village entrance and wait for your dad."
"What if Grandpa runs away?"
"Your second aunt is a person who can't keep secrets. She will definitely tell them. Your two aunts and your uncle are back today, and your grandfather will not go out."
When Zhou Jiao took Ping'an out, Zhang Guoqing had just stopped at the door of the old courtyard. When he saw the mother and son, his eyes lit up and he waved to them.
Seeing that he was sweating profusely, Zhou Jiao took out a handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to him.
Zhang Guoqing didn't even reach out to take it, but stretched his neck over with a smile.
"Puchi" Zhou Jiao chuckled, glanced at him with a smile in her eyes, looked around guiltily, and reached out to quickly wipe the sweat from his forehead.
"Dad, did you really buy the soda? How much is the deposit for the bottle?" Ping'an stood on tiptoe, but couldn't see what was tied to the back of the car. He patted his leg regretfully.
"A deposit of 1.5 cents per bottle. This brand is different from Arctic Ocean, I don't know how it tastes. Dad ordered a case first, you can come back and buy more if you like it."
"Baby, go in and ask your brothers to come out and help. Take your time, there's no rush."
Zhang Guoqing watched Ping'an go in and unloaded everything from the back seat of the car, leaving only a wooden box. After the children rushed in and out like a gust of wind, he pushed the car and the box into the yard as if they were treasures.
"Son, look what good things your father brought you?" As he said this, he waved to Ping'an as if he was presenting a treasure, opened the lid and lifted up a corner of the small quilt inside.
Ping An exclaimed in surprise, "Wow!" and quickly asked, "Are they all red bean popsicles, cream flavor?"
Zhang Guoqing smiled and shook his head. "There are only about fifty popsicles in the store. There's no choice. Dad bought them all. The brothers and sisters are taking you out to play these days and treating you to some. You should treat them to some popsicles."
Zhou Jiao looked up at the blue sky and the azure sea. Fortunately, the sun was out. Otherwise, it would have been freezing cold. She would have to treat everyone to a meal and also prepare medical expenses.
"Brothers, come and help. These are popsicles, move them into the house first."
Zhou Jiao saw Zhang's mother walking towards them quickly after hearing the movements. She was so scared that she quickly ran to the kitchen. She silently counted one, two, three in her heart...
"How much does this cost? Who asked you to buy it?..."
Huang Cuilan saw Zhou Jiao coming into the kitchen, covering her mouth with her hands and laughing. She said with a smile, "What's wrong? Are the kids playing again? They've been having a blast these past few days."
"Let them play. What do you think we should prepare next, sister-in-law? Is the second sister-in-law home?"
Huang Cuilan rinsed the dishes in the pot and placed them in the cupboard. "I asked her to go back and get some household items. Wait a moment, she'll be here soon. Why did Xiaowu come back so soon?"
Zhou Jiao glanced at her, knowing she wanted to know when Zhang Guofu would arrive, but it was really hard to hear. Was it wrong for her man to come back early?
She really disliked such suggestive words, especially those that were meant to belittle others to achieve their goals. Seeing this, Zhou Jiao smiled and shook her head. She really didn't mean to not answer. Who knew what time Boss Zhang would leave?
Huang Cuilan looked at the sky outside worriedly. "Didn't Juhua say that the second brother and the fifth brother went into the city together? Why haven't we seen the second brother come back? Will he wait for the eldest sister and the others to come together?"
Zhou Jiao sighed secretly, "Second brother should be planning to ride his bike to pick up eldest brother."
"That's really possible. The child's father hasn't been home for several weeks this time. I wonder if he brought any spare clothes? It's really hard to ride in the car in this hot weather."
Zhou Jiao was confused. How should she respond?
"I only dare to say this because Mom isn't here. Actually, Mom doesn't have to go to the provincial capital often to see your eldest brother, he will come back anyway. Every time Mom and Dad go to the provincial capital, the round-trip fare alone is quite a lot."
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